This year the Vermont Library Association’s Government Relations Committee is recommending regional legislative gatherings during November, December and January, when the legislature convenes.

We invite you and your library to participate in these informal gatherings. While the format varies, the gatherings provide an opportunity for Legislators, librarians, and trustees to talk about library issues and the key part that libraries play in Internet access, job searching, and education. It is also an opportunity for us to hear about the legislative process and the agenda before the Legislators.

We need to meet with Legislators this year to thank them for their continued support for the new patron confidentiality law and to remind them that state funding for public libraries continues to be an important issue. Our goal is to keep this at the top of their agenda when state finances are stronger. We also want Legislators to ensure ongoing support for the Department of Libraries’ services to public libraries.